The 27-year-old athlete's family said he was "ready" to answer questions about what happened the night he shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked lavatory door at his home on Valentine's Day last year.

BLAZE KILLS FIREFIGHTERS

A FIRE trapped and killed two firefighters in a basement where their colleagues couldn't rescue them.

Thirteen other firefighters were injured in the blaze on Wednesday in Boston and several police officers also were taken to hospitals. Some residents had to be rescued from the upper floors of the four-story apartment building, but none was hurt, city officials said.

ANOTHER GO WITH 'WIND'

DECADES after the publication of 'Gone With the Wind,' Mammy is finally getting a back story.

Simon & Schuster imprint Atria announced yesterday that it will publish Donald McCaig's 'Ruth's Journey' in October. A prequel to Margaret Mitchell's million-selling 1936 novel, the book was authorised by Mitchell's estate. McCaig previously wrote an authorised spin-off focused on Rhett Butler, 'Rhett's People'.

MAC REUNITED FOR TOUR

Fleetwood Mac fans will be celebrating after Christine McVie announced she was returning to the band in time for their upcoming world tour and a possible new album. The band confirmed the news yesterday.

The singer and keyboardist walked out in 1998 following a three-decade stint in the group, and revealed yesterday that she initially quit because of her fear of flying. "I have very high hopes for all of this," guitarist Lindsey Buckingham said. "We've only been in the studio a week and it's been really beautiful," she said.

WORLD '80PC POLIO FREE'

About 80pc of the world is officially free of polio, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

The WHO south-east Asia region – home to a quarter of the world's population – has been declared free of polio. To be rated polio-free, a region must have had no confirmed cases for at least three years. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director for the WHO south-east Asia region, said: "This is a momentous victory for the millions of health workers who have worked with governments, non-governmental organisations, civil society and international partners to eradicate polio from the region."